New Jersey Beefs Up Anti-Flooding Regulations

NJ Governor Corzine recently announced significant changes to the Flood Hazard Area Control Act. 

The DEP's new rules launch a number of anti-flooding measures, such as a long-overdue update of flood maps. Too often, the maps now don't reflect where water actually flows when floods strike, a lapse that allows building to continue in harm's way. But the rules do much more. In a major change, the DEP also proposes vastly expanded buffer zones around every stream in the state. The state currently requires most streams to have an undeveloped buffer of 25 or 50 feet. That distance would increase to between 150 and 300 feet under the new scheme. The wider buffers would be required whether or not a particular site floods.

Environmentally responsible stream cleanings and the relocation and reconstruction of damaged buildings will be streamlined under the new rules through increased access to general permits. Additionally, new permits-by-rule will give property owners authorization to undertake specific regulated activities without the need to obtain prior written approval from the DEP. This will streamline activities as complicated as using machinery to remove major obstructions from waterways or elevating buildings above flood hazard areas, as well as activities as simple as building a fence or a patio.

Adding fill, which includes construction material, buildings, and roads, to a flood plain can make a river more prone to flooding. Current development rules require that if any fill is added to a flood plain, an 80% equivalent of that fill must also be removed from the same plain. The new rules will increase the requirement to 100% resulting in what is called 0% net fill.

The DEP isn't sure how many acres the proposed rules will place off limits to development, but the number could reach the tens of thousands. Developers and property owners are sure to find the new rules controversial as the debate over protecting developed areas located in river floodplains heats up. http://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/approved/20060823a.html